(Adnkronos) – The European Commission is officially opening a formal procedure against TikTok for a suspected violation of the Digital Services Act (Dsa). The act is linked “to TikTok’s obligation to adequately assess and mitigate systemic risks to election integrity, particularly in the context of the recent Romanian presidential elections on 24 November,” a statement said.
“Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated the Digital Services Act by failing to address these risks. It should be clear that in the EU all online platforms, including TikTok, must be held accountable,” commented EU Executive President Ursula von der Leyen.
The investigation launched by the Commission takes into account declassified intelligence reports from the Romanian authorities, which show evidence of a large-scale operation, probably of Russian origin, designed to manipulate the results of the Romanian presidential elections, illegitimately favoring the pro-Russian and anti-Western candidate Calin Georgescu. Based on what was discovered, the Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the runoff less than two days before the vote. The formal proceedings are also based on the analysis of the risk assessment reports submitted by TikTok in 2023 and 2024, on the responses to the Commission’s requests for information and on the internal documents provided by TikTok, the Commission points out.
The Commission’s investigation will focus on aspects of risk management for elections or civic discourse. TikTok’s recommendation systems will come under scrutiny, considering the risks associated with coordinated manipulation through bots, but also the platform’s policies on political advertising and paid political content.
The EU executive intends to investigate “whether TikTok has diligently mitigated the risks posed by specific regional and linguistic aspects of national elections,” the statement explains. “Should the Commission’s suspicions prove founded, these shortcomings would constitute a violation of the Dsa. The Commission will now conduct an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. The initiation of formal proceedings does not prejudge their outcome”.
After the formal initiation of proceedings, the Commission “will continue to gather evidence, such as by sending further requests for information, conducting monitoring actions, interviews, inspections and requesting access to algorithms”. The European authorities may request TikTok to provide access to the data and documents that the platform was obliged to “freeze” and retain on the basis of an order issued by the EU executive on 5 December last. The Dsa does not provide for any legal deadline for the conclusion of the formal procedure. This is the third investigation launched by the Commission against TikTok, after the one opened in February 2024 (still ongoing) and the one closed with commitments last August.
